Clemente Helps Afghan Families Adjust

When mother of four Zarghoona immigrated to New Haven from Afghanistan five years ago, she did not know any English.

She learned it with the help of her daughter, who was picking it up at Clemente Leadership Academy. Then Zarghoona returned to the school helping newer arrivals from her native land adjust to a new country, as an interpreter.

Zarghoona has three of her kids currently enrolled at Clemente, in eighth, fourth, and second grades. 

Her family came to New Haven in 2016 from Kandahar, Afghanistan. Like many other refugees, Zarghoona’s family got help with housing and schooling from Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services (IRIS).

Over the past year, as a new wave of Afghan refugees have resettled here after the resumption of power by the Taliban, Clemente has seen an uptick in its enrollment of Afghan families. 

Clemente currently has 19 families from Afghanistan enrolled, with 56 students in all, up from 40 the previous year. Of the school’s total 427 students, Afghanistan students make up more than 10 percent of the school.

“They are the sweetest kids. They do a nice job at our school,” said Clemente’s principal Mia Duff. ​“We’re rich to have them here because of all the learning we get to experience about another culture.”

Three months after settling here, Zarghoona’s kids were enrolled at Clemente. At the time the family spoke only their native language of Pashto. 

Zarghoona, who lives in the Hill, worked as Clemente’s Pashto interpreter and tutor last year. She described the job of teaching groups of kids English a challenge.

Zarghoona decided to leave the job for better pay. She continues to do Pashto interpretation. ​“It’s not easy; I got very stressed,” she said.

Her second grader, who was 2 when they first arrived, had an easier time learning the language because he learned English and Pashto at once.

The others, including Zarghoona, had to learn English using a Pashto interpreter. Of the entire transition, ​“most difficult was the language,” she said. 

Zarghoona got help from a friend with enrolling at the New Haven Adult Education Center two days a week. She is a student of the English as a Second Language (ESOL) and GED programs.

​“It’s still hard to catch words when people speak fast, but when it is slower I understand everything,” she said during an interview at the school, which was conducted in English. (She asked that her last name not be used and that she and her family not be photographed.)

Over the past five years she said she has been grateful for the school’s assistance in her family’s transition to a new home.

“I can’t imagine learning like this in our country,” she said. 

She said there were fewer schools available in Kandahar, and she often worried about her family’s safety there. 

Something Zarghoona never imagined doing when in Kandahar was learning to drive. While in Afghanistan, Zarghoona and her kids didn’t leave their home often. ​“We didn’t go outside in our country. My husband would work, and that’s it,” she said. 

Since immigrating to New Haven, she has gotten her driver’s license to help get her kids to appointments when her husband is working. 

She passed her road test on the fourth try. She had been nervous when they told her her husband couldn’t join to help with her English. 

“My kids are learning and are very happy here. They hug their teachers and sometimes look to them like they are a mom,” she said. 

When New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) shifted to remote learning last year, Zarghoona took a basic computer skills course at Adult Ed to learn how to use the internet and computer.

Zarghoona’s eighth grader Bibi, 13, said she dealt with bullying because she couldn’t speak English when she first arrived at Clemente. 

She worked hard at learning English to stop the bullying and to catch up to her grade level, and she succeeded.

Bibi has enjoyed the year so far because she prefers learning in person. She didn’t like remote learning because ​“sometimes the internet was on and sometimes it was not” she said. 

Bibi’s favorite subject is math; she plans to become a doctor. 

Scrambling For Help

Clemente has among the most Afghan students enrolled in town, behind Barnard, which has over 60 (as well as a newcomer center to assist them). 

Clemente has scrambled to find Pashto-speaking tutors and interpreters for refugee families, according to Principal Duff. At the moment they have two part-timers, and could use more.

“It’s an extremely important role we’re playing. We’re providing them with a safe learning environment and helping them make the transition, which is not an easy one, especially since some of the families have experienced trauma,” Duff reflected. ​“It’s important they have meals on a regular basis — breakfast and lunch are extremely important to all of our students. And it’s important we connect to them culturally.”

“One cannot emphasize enough the role any school plays in the adjustment of newly arrived students. Particularly a school like Clemente, which is where so many newly arrived students spend the majority of their time and, in doing so, begin building a foundation of who they are in a new country,” remarked Ann O’Brien, director of community engagement for IRIS. ​“It’s truly a second home for many. Clemente takes the role they play to heart and they show it by surrounding students with caring staff, seeking out resources to support students and by connecting with families to keep them engaged.

“Perhaps the most authentic testament to their role is that families are happy sending their children there and recommend the school to their friends. ​“

Once students are enrolled at Clemente, English teacher Kelly Hebrank works with IRIS and school staff to assist with getting the families necessities like seasonal clothing and shoes.

Clemente uses a ​“pull-out model” for its refugee families: the students, regardless of their native language, are immersed in English classrooms throughout the school day, then pulled out daily for 40 minutes of English-language tutoring.

Another challenge the school faces with some families from Afghanistan is that some are not literate in Pashto, which further limits communication, Hebrank said. 

“Teaching a language is extremely visual and ideally physical,” she added. 

Over one third of Clemente students are labeled as English learners.

“It’s been an extremely challenging school year,” Hebrank said. ​“We have to prioritize as best as possible to help families with lower English proficiency.” 

During the pause of in-person learning, Hebrank went to the homes of several refugee families to help them learn to use Google classroom, submit class work, and type on a keyboard. 

When she couldn’t take trips to families homes, she ​“spent a lot of time communicating through pictures of the keyboard. I’d draw circles and arrows around things to show them how to use it [computer].”

"Comfortable & Safe"

One of the new Afghan families is headed by Dilawar Shamshad, a father of seven. They moved to New Haven this past November. Shamshad’s children began school at Clemente this January. 

Shamshad’s family left Khost, Afghanistan, because they were being threatened by the Taliban. 

“Here we are comfortable and safe,” he said. 

Since arriving Shamshad has applied to take a class to learn English as his kids learn at school. 

“My children can learn more here,” he said. 

In Khost, Shamshad’s family could afford to send only their three oldest boys to school. 

“We weren’t sure about schools and hospitals here, but now we have found very good ones,” he said.

Shamshad, who previously worked as a solider in Khost, is looking for corporate or driving jobs. 

Shamshad’s eighth-grade twins Haider and Arafat said they both enjoy learning English while at school.

​“The school is very good. I like it because we can study more here,” Haider said. 

Arafat said so far learning English has been easy. 

“I like this school better,” he said in comparison to his previous private boys’ school in Khost.

The two also plan to also become doctors.